Rumrunner's Island
by Eloise Gooding III
Summary: One-shot. Captain Jack Sparrow has just been the victim of a mutiny and has been marooned on a God forsaken spit of land! However, he runs into some unexpected company, and I think she may be more fond of him, then he is of her. Pre-CotBP


**Disclaimer: I don't own ****Pirates of The Caribbean****. Blah, Blah, Blah.**

She stayed behind the rocks out of sight as she marveled at how close she had managed to get to the large ship. She could hardly tell what was going on, but it fascinated her anyway. She saw a large amount of men and one specifically stood out to her. He had a large fuzzy thing on his hat and his beard was scraggly. She soon lost interest in him, however, when she noticed the man who jumped into the water.

000

On the _Black Pearl _a mutiny was taking place. Jack Sparrow was being marooned on an island that had been picked out by none other than Hector Barbossa. He was allowed one pistol with one shot and he jumped off the edge of the boat to maintain his dignity, or what he had left of it. Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed.

He started to feel sand underneath his feet and waded the rest of the way. It wasn't until he sat on the sand for rest, facing the ocean, before he noticed her. She was sitting in the water staring at him.

Her brown eyes were wide with curiosity and her long brown hair blew in the salty breeze. She was a beautiful woman, but only on top. She was resting, not on legs, but on a long, sleek blue tail.

Jack was about to pass her off as a mirage, but there was something about her. Something that seemed so… real.

She turned and slid back into the water.

"Wait!" Jack cried. He didn't know why. She was probably just an illusion. She turned back and looked at him.

"Who are you?" He asked her. She just stared.

"Do. You. Understand?" Jack slowed down.

She nodded up and down, "Of course I understand. Why are you shouting?"

"Oh," Jack replied rather lamely, "What's your name?"

"Adeila. Who are you?" She scooted closer to him so she was completely out of the water. Her tail soon dissolved and a pair of slender legs took their place.

"I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow!" He replied.

"Captain? Like a pirate?" She asked her eyes widening at the thought. She had always wanted to meet a human, but a pirate was truly fascinating!

"Erm… yeh," He stated as he started to get up. She got up as well and wobbled a little. She started to fall and Jack ran to catch her. She grabbed hold of his chest and held him tight as he helped steady her. He had a wonderful scent, for she didn't know it was rum.

He cleared his throat and she let go, steadying herself. He had a chance to study her more closely. Her big brown eyes were bloodshot, her brown hair was tangled and broken bits of shells were stuck in it, she was wearing a seaweed wrap over her breasts and her legs were sticking out of a blue silk skirt, the same color as her tail.

He started to explore the island, if it was big enough to be called an island. Adeila immediately followed him. All was going smoothly, aside from the stumbles of the mermaid, until all of a sudden, Jack disappeared. She looked around her and he was nowhere to be seen, but then she heard a mumble coming from below her.

She looked towards her dainty feet and noticed a huge hole in the ground. And who should be sitting on the bottom? None other than Captain Jack Sparrow.

"What are you doing down there?" She asked being unable to get enough information.

"I fell down," was all that came back.

"What d'ya fall down for?" She asked again.

"I didn't want to!" Jack replied clearly annoyed, "But look!" He held something up.

"A bottle?"

"Filled with rum, love!"

"Rum?"

"A drink."

"I'm not thirsty."

"You will be when you have some of this!"

"Well, can you bring it here?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I fell in this hole."

"What about those steps?" And indeed, there were steps on the side of the stash of rum that Jack wasn't facing. So he climbed up the steep set of stairs with two bottles of rum.

000

The stash lasted them until rescue, which was three days after Jack had been marooned. She had stayed with him the entire time, but was in the water for the most part. Her longing for it had not been satisfied, even with rum.

When Jack first caught sight of the ship he was curious as to what it was doing. It was coming straight for the land. He sent Adeila to check it out. It was a very busy ship indeed. They had no flag and no uniforms, but they weren't as dirty as pirates either.

When Captain Sparrow heard what Adeila had to report he knew they were merchants. He still had no idea what they were doing here at this God forsaken spit of land.

Then he saw the rowboats. He told asked Adeila to come with him back to Tortuga. She had to refuse.

"My place is in the water," she explained sadly, "But if you ever wish to see my again, blow on this horn. I will come to your aide immediately," she handed him a very small conch shell, but when Jack puckered his lips to the end and blew, it made a delightful sound.

The boats were nearly there. It was time for Adeila to say good-bye. She leaned towards him in a tight embrace. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Then Jack leaned in. The kiss was passionate, yet very conservative. His toungue tasted of the rum he had drunk for the past three days. She pulled away and dove into the ocean without looking back.

Just in time as well, the rowboats hit the sand bank and were being pulled in.

"I'm terribly sorry 'bout the rum, mate," Jack said as he walked over to his rescuers.


End file.
